Arts & Life

Women Who Roar: Vancouver Debuts All-Female Storytelling Troupe

Erika Worth is the executive producer and curator of ROAR, a night of female storytelling in Vancouver, Washington.

Molly Solomon/OPB

Erika Worth is the woman behind Vancouver’s first all-female storytelling event. Her brand of fierce, female storytelling is evident in the production’s name.

“I literally woke up with the word roar,” Worth recalled. “And I thought about it and, went, ‘Yeah that’s it.’”

Worth said the idea behind ROAR grew out of her own involvement in the Portland storytelling scene. She was hooked after performing at the 7 Deadly Sins Show.

“Afterward I went, ‘Where are all the female storytelling shows,’” Worth said. “And I started looking for them and I couldn’t find them.”

So she made her own. The Vancouver resident knew she wanted to create an event on the Washington side of the river. She said, too often, people make the drive to Portland.

“I live here and I know when you go over the river and they talk about ‘Vantucky’ and make jokes,” she said. “But there are some incredible hearts and minds here and people that are really passionate.”

Worth has found that passion in her first group of performers. The five women range in age from one on the cusp of 30 to another going through menopause. She says there’s something about owning the stage that is empowering for these women.

“And especially when you’re telling your own stories,” Worth said. “They’re there to feel something. They’re there to share in an experience.”